South Africa’s Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced a new affordable single dose treatment that could possibly revolutionize treatment of HIV/AIDS in the country. The three-in-one anti-retroviral combination will cost each patient a record low $10 per dose.

After years of refusing to roll out ARVs, South Africa now has 1.9 million people on treatment among its 5.6 million HIV-positive population, which is the world’s largest.

The new pill will be introduced this month to positive pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, people co-infected with TB, and to new ARV patients.

“Before 2010, we were buying the most expensive ARVs in the world. Now we are a country where the ARVs are the cheapest in the world,” Motsoaledi said, adding that they’ll now be able to “increase the number of patients on treatment.”

Under former president Thabo Mbeki, South Africa refused to roll out ARVs, but the nation now has the largest ARV program in the world, and as a result, life expectancy has increased significantly over the last six years.

Fareed Abdullah, the CEO of South African National AIDS Council, said the new pill will simplify the way patients have been used to taking ARV treatment.

“We have come a very long way since the advent of anti-retrovirals,” Abdullah said. “At one point, patients used to take up to 16 pills a day.”

The same 3-in-1 combination that will cost 10 bucks a month in South Africa, is currently sold as Atripla in the United States at a cost of $1300 a month or about 40 bucks a pi9ll.

Apr 11, 2013 at 1:48 pm · @Reply ·

Kieru

@QJ201: Exactly! And that $10 per dose… how much of that is subsidized by outside funding? Last year the United States proudly announced that they were well en route to getting HIV drugs to third-world countries down to treatment at $1 per person.

Yet if you’re on a 3-drug treatment in the United States you can expect it to run you $9,000 every 3 months without insurance. Figure your insurance reduces that to oh…. $75 per script or $225 every 3 months ($900 a year). Plus the cost of your health plan which… since you’r HIV+ is only going up up up every year.

When you tell me you can treat someone in Africa at $10 a pill but that same drug in America is going to cost me 4 times that… we have a problem.

Apr 11, 2013 at 2:03 pm · @Reply ·

viveutvivas

Even $10 a pill is unaffordable for someone who makes $30 a month, never mind the more jobless who are more than 50% of the population.

The U.S. has been very much at the forefront in preventing the poor from having access to HAART therapy by trying to prevent third world countries from making cheap generic versions of HIV medications for their populations, through manipulation of international treaties, threats related to commerce agreements, and general intimidation, already starting under Bill Clinton. Who cares about a few million poor people’s deaths when we have to protect the profits of the big pharmaceutical companies who elect presidents.

Omg I did not know treatment was that expensive, maybe I’ll hold on to my virtue for a few more years. Can you imagine going 10 years without sex. I’ll get there in Nov. 2017.

Apr 11, 2013 at 6:58 pm · @Reply ·

Kieru

@Dionte: Treatment is disproportionately expensive in America due to patents. I don’t believe there are any generics for HIV drugs available in the United States; so essentially these pharmaceutical providers can charge whatever they want.

Now… are you seriously avoiding sex because you’re afraid you’ll get HIV? Simply slipping a condom on (or asking your partner to) will dramatically reduce your risks. Simple precautions and learning how the virus is passed on should alleviate a lot of your concerns and allow you to engage in some fun (and safe) activities.

@Dionte: That had to be a terrible thing to go through; but please be aware that with current therapies as long as a person stays on their drugs, they are going to (most likely) live a normal, healthy life. HIV is not the death sentence it once was.

By all means be careful and safe; but don’t let tragedy or fear hold you back from enjoying life and finding love. With even the most basic of safety measures you can be quite safe, even if you’re in a sero-discordant relationship.

Hmmm… it’s like getting on a train that was made in China: you wanna get where you’re going but, is it worth the risk? Would you seriously put a pill in your mouth that was manufactured in Africa?

Apr 12, 2013 at 1:31 am · @Reply ·

viveutvivas

@kenneth, that’s just ignorant. South Africa has a pretty good infrastructure compared to the U.S. At least in South Africa our bridges are not falling down, our roads are not so full as potholes, and we don’t have constant outbreaks of people dying from meningitis, etc., from rotted medications as they do in the U.S.

Apr 12, 2013 at 9:40 am · @Reply ·

viveutvivas

Oh, and at least we have had gay marriage for almost a decade already.

Apr 12, 2013 at 9:43 am · @Reply ·

Kieru

@viveutvivas: Kenneth’s comments were ignorant. Yours aren’t much better. Both of you are making gross blanket statements about a country.

I know there’s a lot of suffering in S. Africa over HIV, so this is great to hear. This low cost treatment will definitely increase people’s quality of life.

Apr 12, 2013 at 1:05 pm · @Reply ·

viveutvivas

@Kieru, yes, I went a little overboard.

For what it is worth, though, it should be emphasized that pharmaceutical manufacturers in the developing world for the most part follow the same quality control procedures as in the West, and there are in fact various drugs in U.S. pharmacies that are imported from the developing world. For example, many Americans get drugs every day in their local pharmacy that are manufactured in India by Cipla.

Apr 12, 2013 at 1:40 pm · @Reply ·

viveutvivas

@Kieru, yes, I went a little overboard.

For what it is worth, though, it should be emphasized that pharmaceutical manufacturers in the developing world for the most part follow the same quality control procedures as in the West, and there are in fact various dr*gs in U.S. pharmacies that are imported from the developing world. For example, many Americans get dr*gs every day in their local pharmacy that are manufactured in India by Cipla.

Apr 12, 2013 at 1:41 pm · @Reply ·

viveutvivas

@Kieru, yes, I went a little overboard.

For what it is worth, though, it should be emphasized that ph**maceutical manufacturers in the developing world for the most part follow the same quality control procedures as in the West, and there are in fact various dr**s in U.S. ph**macies that are imported from the developing world. For example, many Americans get dr**s every day in their local ph**macy that are manufactured in India.

(This filter is ridiculous.)

Apr 12, 2013 at 1:42 pm · @Reply ·

Kieru

@viveutvivas: And I think that’s a very good point. In the United States the FDA has a standard for generic drugs and how far they can deviate in terms of medical effectiveness. The downside is that that range is of some debate when it comes to HIV treatment.

A generic can (for example) be 25% less effective at its treatment, but still be considered a valid option. Now for treating hay fever I think that lower potency is acceptable. But in treating a virus like HIV? That’s probably the ONLY reasonable argument for keeping generics at arms length right now, and in the long-term it’s a fairly weak one as ‘less effective’ is still better than ‘no drugs at all’

Apr 12, 2013 at 1:51 pm · @Reply ·

monica rice

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